Report: 'Casual' interest in portable gaming systems down 29 percent

Got your grain of salt ready? Good! Survey and statistical analysis firm Cowen and Company has published the results of a survey that suggests "casual" gamer interest in dedicated handheld gaming systems has declined by 29 percent over the last 5 years. 37 percent of people polled play games on a dedicated device, while 52 percent primarily use their phones. The study goes on to say that companies like EA, who have invested heavily in iOS and Android gaming, are better positioned for the future of the market as compared to other companies such as Nintendo.

Now, these are "self-identified" casual gamers, mind you, and knowing what that means in practical terms or how it affects the results of this survey is an impossibility. It's also no big shocker that the Great Smartphone Boom of the early 21st century has had an impact on dedicated devices of all kinds, from gaming systems to navigation units to carrier pigeons.

Seriously, our carrier pigeon side-business is really, really tanking. This may not have been the smartest investment we could have made.